Clandescent
by Marelli
Summary: AU Lying. Cheating. Stealing. Backstabbing. Jealousy. Old loves. New flames. Unspoken desires. Unrequited affection. Welcome to boarding school, Sakura. Sasusaku
1. Chapter 1

Pink locks fluttered out behind Sakura Haruno as she took her first steps onto the grounds of Konaha Preparatory Academy. She ran a hand through her hair, pushing her chin length bangs back as well. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the fresh air as the gentle breeze caressed her face. She reopened her lids, her sea foam green eyes glittering with anticipation, as she twirled a strand of her thick, lower back reaching hair around her finger.

Her grandmother had only just dropped her off, suitcase in hand, at her home for the next year. But Sakura had never imagined the campus to be as beautiful as it was. The buildings seemed full of history even as nice and well-kept as they looked. The rolling grass grounds were dotted with many trees that, though come winter would be bare, were still green and alive in the warm August sunlight.

The sidewalks were filled with students talking, sending text messages, or-like the cherry blossom on the sidewalk-hauling their suitcases around trying to find their new dorm assignments. However, not one of these dozens of students looked the least bit friendly, unlike the pictures on the brochure had promised. This was sure to be a completely different environment than the small town school she had come from.

But that was to be expected of course! She was at boarding school now! The girl hiked her purse up onto her shoulder, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and pulled out her information card she had received in the mail. Her finger traced its was down the card, finding the dorm assignment section.

_Leaf Building_

She looked back up, only to realize most of the buildings looked the same.

Sakura bit her lip and scanned her surroundings, looking for a sign to direct her towards the dorms. With no such look, she began looking towards the students, trying to find one who didn't look as intimidating.

Her helplessness must have been displayed in her eyes, for soon she heard someone call to her from behind.

"Are you lost?"

The girl turned quickly to find herself face to face with a tall blonde boy. He smiled at her.

"Naruto Uzumaki at your service!"

He was taller than her, had unruly blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. Her conscious screamed 'idiot', but his smile was very inviting and he looked a lot more welcoming than any of the other students.

"Yeah, um, I'm looking for the Leaf Building?" Sakura told him, showing him the slip of paper.

"You must be a junior then!" He exclaimed, "All juniors are in that dorm, including me!"

He took the paper from her, scanning over it quickly, then began to walk away. "Ok, then, Sakura-chan, follow me!"

Sakura scrambled to follow him, her suitcase in tow. He was quick on his feet, even when walking. She found herself unable to keep up until he stopped in front of a tall white building with the same leaf-like symbol on the front as the one on her information sheet.

"Here we are!" Naruto said triumphantly. He turned to the awe-struck girl beside him, smiling. He handed her information back to her. "Sorry I can't walk with you in, but I have stuff to take care of. I guess I'll see you around? I'll take you out for ramen sometime!"

"Yeah…"

The blonde boy laughed and then left Sakura to slowly make her way through the tall doors into the accommodating lobby. She checked her slip once more to find her room number-_408_-Which she found on the fourth floor on the right side of the hallway.

Taking another deep breath, she turned her assigned key in the lock until it clicked and the door swung open, revealing a somewhat plain room. It had two single beds, two desks, three doors-two closets and one bathroom-and two windows, both with stunning views of the campus. The bed closest to the door already had a stack Louis Vuitton suitcases on it, so the pink headed girl brought her stuff to the bed on the opposite side of the room and began to unpack.

"You must be my new roommate."

Sakura looked up to see a pretty white-blonde girl in the doorway.

"I'm Ino," she said, leaning on the side of the frame.

Ino had her long hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were a very bright aqua and sparkled with her outgoing personality. She definitely had to be one of the most eye-catching girls at the school.

Sakura smiled.

"I'm Sakura, this is my first year here."

Ino tilted her head to the side and gave Sakura an odd look.

"Your forehead is huge." She said nonchalantly.

Sakura's hand immediately flew up to cover it. A blush was making its way on her cheeks. Her forehead was the part of her body she was _most_ self-conscious about. People at her old school had always picked on her for it.

Ino laughed. "Don't listen to me! It's fine as long as you're comfortable with it!"

Sakura gave her a small smile and slowly brought her hand back down. Ino was probably a lot nicer than she seemed. The blonde straightened up, her own hand rested on the pocket of her jean skirt calmly. But soon, she franticly was using both hands to feel all around her pockets, obviously looking for something. Her eyes went wide when she couldn't find it.

"I'll be right back!" She said in a panicking voice before shooting out of the open door.

Sakura stared after her for a second, but turned back to her unzipped suitcase. She pulled her new school uniform out and made her way to the empty closet to the right of her bed.

She was only three feet away when a tall, handsome boy appeared in the doorway holding a glittery cell phone.

"Ino, you left this in…"

The sentence was left hanging in the air, his eyes focusing on the girl in front of him.

"Sakura?"

"Sasuke-kun!"

* * *

Author notes will can be found on my profile.


	2. Chapter 2

_It was dark outside, nighttime in September. Twelve year old Sakura Haruno sat on the front porch of her neighbor's house. He eyes were red and swollen, her face stained with tears. She cradled her head in her hands when her tears started up again. The porch light above her suddenly flickered on and she heard the door behind her creak open._

"_Sakura? What are you doing here?"_

_She let her short hair cover her face. She couldn't bear to look at him._

"_Sa-Sasuke…kun," she stuttered through her tears, "Why didn't you tell me...that you were…leaving…?"_

_She could feel him frown behind her, but he remained silent. Slowly, she turned to face him. His dark eyes were staring directly in hers. She took a gulp of air but didn't look away._

"_Sasu-"_

"_When did you find out?"_

"_This afternoon," she looked down when she felt more tears well up, "My grandmother told me. Kakashi-sensei had told her earlier…"_

_Sasuke sighed. He had figured Kakashi would inform his neighbors, but he had hoped Sakura wouldn't find out until after he left. He had wanted to avoid…well, this._

"_Kakashi got a teaching job at a boarding school in the north," Sasuke explained, "And I have to go with him."_

_Though Sakura had already known about this, she still couldn't believe it._

"_I…Let me go with you!" She cried._

"_That's not an option, Sakura," he replied flatly. She turned her back to him once more, crying silently now. He walked forward a bit and sat down beside her on the step. "You don't need to leave here. This is your home."_

"_You're wrong…" Sakura said after a quiet pause, "Not without you…"_

_The cicadas chirping in the heat was the only sound heard for a while. Sakura looked over to Sasuke. He was not looking at her though, he was looking straight into the darkness, thinking._

_Tilting her head slightly back to the ground, Sakura whispered his name. He stood up suddenly, stepping out of the light from the porch. She watched him with wide eyes. He extended his hand to her and she took it._

_The girl was all of a sudden pulled up next to him. She found breathing to be difficult when he was this close. His deep charcoal eyes pierced hers as he used the silence to think of what to say._

"_Sakura," he finally whispered, "thank you."_

_She took a deep breath and closed her eyes…_

The uniform fell to the floor. Her arms extended, she ran the short distance between them to embrace him.

"Sasuke…kun." The pink haired girl whispered his name into his chest.

Slowly, after the initial uncertainty wore off, Sasuke put his own arms around her waist. He waited for her to move before speaking. She let her hands fall to her side and Sakura moved back to look up at him, Sasuke lowering his arms to his side as well.

She spoke first. "I've missed you."

He paused to admire her before he said anything. It was amazing how similar she looked to her twelve-year-old self, but yet she seemed much more mature.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura smiled even brighter. "I live here now," she answered.

"With Ino?" Sasuke began, but changed his question, "Did you transfer just for me, Sakura?"

The girl pouted and crossed her arms. "Of course not! I didn't even know you went to school here, Sasuke-kun!" Her lip quavered. "You…didn't tell me where you were going…"

He frowned. He looked just like he had before he left and she hated to see him like that. So she perked up.

"So does Kakashi-sensei teach here then?"

Sasuke nodded, thinking about something. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. Sasuke fidgeted with her fingers, she could always tell what types of things were going to come out of his mouth. Judging by the uncertainty on his face, he was trying to tell her something she would be hurt by. And she didn't want to hear it. Not now. Not after she finally found him again.

"Sasuke-kun." He looked up at her smiling face. "Why don't you take me on a tour of the campus?"

His face relaxed. "Alright. What do you want to see?"

The girl contemplated, her slender finger under her chin. "Your room!"

"Sakura-chan!"

Green eyes widened at seeing the boy who helped her earlier on one of the bed in Sasuke's room. She whipped her head to look at Sasuke who also looked slightly confused, but he kept silent. By that time, the blonde had made his way to the door where she stood and grabbed her hands.

"Did you want to take me up on my ramen offer?"

Sakura frowned, upset with herself for already forgetting this boy's name. "Eh…"

"Naruto, remember? Na-ru-to!" He beamed at her. She smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Naruto, Sasuke-kun is showing me around campus. Are you two roommates?"

"Yep!" Naruto looked up to the raven-haired boy in the hall. "Teme? How do you know Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke looked at him with a dull expression. "I'd like to ask you that question"

"We were childhood friends!" Sakura exclaimed, answering Naruto.

Naruto frowned, dropping her hands and glaring jealously at Sasuke. "Teme, let me go out with Sakura-chan! You already have a girlfriend!"

The glare that Naruto received sent chills down his spine. The Uchiha wanted to murder him, he could feel it. He must have said something he shouldn't have, but Naruto couldn't help it! He had a big mouth and the cute pink haired girl was cute, of course he wanted to take her out.

"You have a girlfriend?" Sakura's voice was soft, he pink bangs hiding her eyes. "Is that what you were trying to tell me before?"

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Hn." A common response from the Uchiha, but she could tell his confirmation ones from his indifferent ones. Behind her hair, green eyes were wide open in shock. Sasuke had a _girlfriend?_ He never had a girlfriend when she knew him! He knew she loved him, but he had never wanted to date his neighbor.

"What type of girl is she?"

"A believe you've already met." It wasn't Sasuke who replied, but the voice came from behind her. It was…familiar. Sakura slowly turning around, she had a feeling where she heard the voice. It didn't seem right. Sasuke would never date…Ino…Would he?

But there she was, in all her platinum-blonde glory. He lean arms snaked around Sasuke's neck.

The blonde smiled, savoring the look on Sakura's face. There were too many girls who liked Sasuke, it was hard not to enjoy their defeated faces.

Sakura let a breath out that she was unaware she had been holding in. She tried to compose herself. She looked from Ino's Cheshire grin to Sasuke's uncomfortable face.

"Pig, get out of my room," Naruto growled in a teasing tone, breaking the silence.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME YOU IDIOT?!"

Naruto knew when to get out. Laughing, he darted out past her, grabbing the still-silent Sakura by her wrist and dragging her along through the hall. He threw the door to the stairs open and they sprinted down the three flights of stairs, and out the back door. He finally pulled her down to a bench to sit with him and released her wrist. He looked at her, smiling sheepishly. She was breathing deeply, but she managed a small smile when she met his eyes.

"Thanks."

The blonde leaned back and put his hands behind his head. His lids closed over his bright eyes, but his smile was still there. "Don't mention it."

Sakura leaned forward into her palms, her elbows resting on her knees. Her long hair was slightly disheveled from the sudden dash, but it was picked up as the wind blew by them and through the small courtyard they had ended up in.

"It was just…Unexpected. Seeing Sasuke-kun again, but that just shocked me a little."

Naruto opened his eyes. "No one understands why they are dating. Teme is a bastard and Ino is a pig. A loud pig." He stuck his pinky in his ear. "I'll never hear the same."

He heard her giggle and smiled. She turned to face him, sitting up slightly. Her smile was radiant, and with the light of the sunset and the wind in her hair, she looked even more beautiful. He could feel his cheeks heat up.

"Naruto, let's go get some ramen together, ne?"

**Fuck what I said in the last chapter, author notes here are easier. It's been a while, I know. Please, don't remind me. If anyone thinks this chapter is bad, tell me and I'll re-write it. I took me a lot of tries to get one I was thought was acceptable to post, but please tell me if it could be better.**

**Keep a look out for my one-shot coming soon! Thanks for reading!**


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